Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF), a 501c3 nonprofit organization was founded on the principles of ending violence and injustices against women and girls. Founded in March of 2010, the organization, Global Woman merged with another organization called P.E.A.C.E. (People Everywhere All Created Equal); the name was officially and legally changed to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation.
GWPF was helpful in getting its home state, Virginia to have FGM criminalized. Virginia was only the 25th state in 2017 to pass that law, and to date, in 2020, there are approximately 36 states with laws against FGM. In 2014, GWPF ventured to where no other organization had gone before; it held the Walk To End FGM. The following year in 2015, GWPF began to recognize advocates and activists with the Global Woman Awards. The Foundation worked with Former Senator Richard Black to pass legislation for FGM to be included in Virginia’s Family Life Education school curriculum. GWPF launched a support group for FGM survivors and girls at risk of it, and have sponsored restorative surgeries of FGM survivors. The Foundation has trained school nurses, communities, and law enforcement on FGM, and has helped protect girls from the danger of FGM, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Global Woman recognizes that violence against women is inextricably linked to gender-based inequalities. When women and girls are expected to be generally subservient, their behavior in relation to their health, including reproductive health, is negatively affected at all stages of the life cycle. To break the silence and ensure that the voices of women and girls are heard, Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation sought to pilot an initiative that works to change the paradigm of masculinity that allows for the resolution of conflict through violence. One strategy is to engage men – policy makers, parents and young boys — in discourse about the dynamics and consequences of these violent acts.